| January 15, 2002 | Tuesday | Shawwal 30, 1422 |
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The unkindest cut of all
What to be proud of?
Abandoning our captive citizens
Committee on Kashmir
Long-distance calls
PTCL customer services
Executive and judiciary
Any critics around?
MSF work in refugee camps
ISI bashing in the press
Role of the union councils
Pensioners’ woes
IN THE course of his extremely interesting comments on Maulana Mohammad Ali (Dawn Metropolitan Jan, 9), Ariel raises the question why, in his article on ‘Choice of the Turks’, Mohammad Ali did not back the idea of the Turks joining the Germans in World War I and recommended neutrality. The fact is that, given the unthinking fanaticism of the Khilafatists, Indian Muslims had far too many misconceptions about this and their hero Enver Pasha.
Surprisingly, Turkish opinion, including that of the Committee of Union and Progress, the ‘Young Turks’, was solidly pro-British. When the war broke out, the Turks tried very hard to persuade the Allies to let Turkey join them! The Allies did not want this because that would justify a German attack on Bosphorus and the Dardanelles, which the Turks could not defend. That would then risk the Russian Black Sea fleet being bottled up. The Allies, therefore, tried very hard to persuade the Turks not to join them but to remain neutral. There is a large literature on this, including the work of Feroz Ahmad, the distinguished historian of Turkey. For details of the Anglo-Turkish negotiations see Memoirs of the Aga Khan. Looking at the relevant historical sources one is surprised that Turkey joined the Germans at all. Mohammad Ali’s advice to the Turks was to remain neutral, which is what the British wanted.
Why and how was it that Turkey got allied with the Germans, when the entire Turkish cabinet was so determined to join Britain and the Allies? That is an amazing story. It was Enver Pasha, the Minister of War, who defied his cabinet and precipitated Turkey’s entry into the war on the side of Germany. He was a dangerous conspirator, although our Khilafat propaganda has projected him as a great hero of Islam (After the war, Enver Pasha ended up in Tashkent, with the then Communist M.N. Roy, learning lessons of revolution!) It is a long story which cannot be narrated here.
In brief, Enver Pasha had been conspiring against his own government with the German Ambassador, Hans Wagenheim. An excellent account of it is in Ulrich Trumpener’s Germany and the Ottoman Empire (1968). The key moment in that conspiracy was when Enver Pasha (to the consternation of his colleagues) got German Battleships, Goebben and Breslau, to visit Constantinople. They were then allowed by him to go into the Black Sea where they bombarded Odessa, Sevastopol, and other Russian ports. That was an act of war. Without wishing to do so, and to their horror, the Turks found themselves at war and that too on the side of Germany! There was little that they could do about it.
HAMZA ALVI
Karachi
IT IS unfortunate that we have been let down by our ‘friends’ yet once again, because the freedom-fighters were proving a hindrance to the ambitious goal of their businessmen who were hoping to capture Indian markets (in a peaceful and calm atmosphere) and to our friends’ political interests in the region. That was “the unkindest cut of all”. These friends can go to any extent for the achievement of their country’s interests.
Regarding the attacks on the held Kashmir state assembly and the Indian parliament one can say that only a stupid group will carry out such terrorist attacks and that too in such a clumsy manner and under such prevailing circumstances when the whole world is waging a war against terrorism.
I know India cannot declare war against Pakistan, simply because when the only superpower, America, could not do it alone against the weakest country, Afghanistan, how can India do it against a nuclear Pakistan?
The whole affair has been masterminded by the Indian intelligence agencies and encouraged by our friends because of their business and political interests.
I think Pakistan should withdraw its troops from the western borders and deploy them along the international border with India, where they are needed most. After all, Pakistan is a sovereign state and reserves its right to take any action which is in its interest.
Does India think that it can pressurize Pakistan to stop moral and political support to the Kashmiris’ struggle for freedom and itself continue a policy of state terrorism against unarmed defenceless Kashmiri people?
Does India really believe that the dear and near ones of those who were killed, maimed, raped, will ever forget those atrocities?
Let India be brave enough to sort out disputes with Pakistan, including the Kashmir dispute across the table rather than through political gimmicks.
PROF DR ASLAM PIRACHA Islamabad
I admire and compliment Mr Glyn Edwards of Bridgend, UK, for his very humane views (Jan 18). He says that we should feel proud if we are tolerant, helpful, kind and unwilling to hurt someone because he or she is different from us in some respect. I fully endorse his views.
But a question arises, how can one remain tolerant, helpful, kind and unwilling to hurt that someone who has killed or has helped others kill one’s innocent brother, mother or father, as in Kashmir or in Palestine?
Or to that someone who has framed policies or taken decisions that have resulted in the merciless destruction of the lives of hundreds and thousands of innocent women and children, as under United States bombing in Iraq and Afghanistan?
Or to that someone who runs a government which has let loose state terrorism in Kashmir resulting in the loss of 70,000 innocent lives besides the maltreatment of countless mothers and sisters?
Will Mr Glyn or anyone who has a heart like to please answer?
HASHMAT ABBAS AWAN
Lahore
IN the wake of the American attack on Afghanistan, the Pakistan government has adopted a policy of abandoning Pakistanis involved in the conflict. No effort seems to have been made to obtain for those caught in the unexpected turn of events, a return passage to their country.
On the other hand, hundreds of them have been snatched away to India by Indian secret services. This has been done on what grounds and for what purpose, nobody knows and no one even asks. The US, too, is transferring scores of them to Cuban concentration camps. And Pakistan has been watching all this as a silent spectator.
Misguided or misled, these people were combatants in a civil war and had nothing to do with the suicide attacks in America. They were not common criminals. In fact, they were pawns in the undercover policies of our rulers about which the less said, the better.
What answer do we have for their parents and their children? Their unfortunate fathers and mothers wait to hear from them. They have a right to know about their whereabouts.
How do we justify abandoning our citizens like dead weights?
After the amnesty announced by the new Afghan government, they all have a right to return to their families and resume their normal life and put the nightmare behind them.
TAUQIR GHANI
Irvine, USA
THE decision to form a national committee on Kashmir is ill-timed and will only add fuel to the already burning fire on the borders by giving the Indians another negative point against Pakistan. On the other hand, judging from past performances, such a committee would not serve any purpose as far as the resolution of the Kashmir issue is concerned.
In the past, similar committees were formed under whose sponsorship, politicians of various hues and colours were sent on world tours at the great expense of the public exchequer.
Yet, in many countries, otherwise knowledgeable people do not even know if there is a dispute over Kashmir.
Sardar Qayyum would just travel and travel and the newspapers would be full of reports of his ‘conquests’ in far-off countries while the Kashmir issue would remain unscathed.
MOHAMMAD IQBAL
Karachi
GULSHAN-I-HADID, located near Pakistan Steel Mill, is a part of Karachi, but the local call facility is not available to this area. Code 0201 of Thatta district is required to be used for linking up with any telephone located in this area. And, as indicated in the bills, telephone users in Karachi have to pay long distance call charges if they make a call to any one in Gulshan-i-Hadid.
However, for all practical purposes, this area is a part of Karachi. The Karachi Electric Supply Corporation, a utility service meant for Karachi, supplies power to locations as far inside the Thatta district as Gharo and Dhabeji. And all the government employees posted in these areas enjoy the allowances and perks at the same rates as those in Karachi.
I request the PTCL to take all this into consideration and treat Gulshan-i-Hadid as a part of Karachi as far as their local telephone service is concerned.
NISAR AHMED RAJPUT
Karachi
IT has been reported that the PTCL is doing very well financially. If so, this is very heartening indeed because this is a time when business is not exactly booming.
However, it is regrettable that the benefits of this financial success have not been passed on to the consumers in the form of improved customer services. Also, there has been an overall increase in the tariffs recently by raising the line rent and the charges for local calls.
Besides that, most of the subscribers have been waiting for over five years now for getting their telephone directories. I am among the lucky ones who have got it recently but for this I had to make several visits to the PTCL offices and follow it up through telephonic reminders. Of course, this is not the way for a commercially successful service provider to behave with its subscribers.
AZIZ UR REHMAN S. MUNSHI
Karachi
THIS refers to the article ‘The crumbling judicial edifice’ by Qazi Faez Isa (Jan 6). Without doubt the most important pillar of the state is the judiciary. If the judiciary is above board, clean and functioning, then the other institutions would have to perform well out of fear of being taken to task.
The justice system not only acts as a watchdog over other state pillars but also ensures redress of grievances against institutions.
It is, therefore, imperative that the executive should be totally separate from the judiciary.
The elevation of judges to higher courts should be in accordance with the laid-down rules and purely on the basis of seniority and merit. This way no government will have any influence on the working of the judiciary, as no judge would feel subservient or obliged to the executive.
I would call upon our law minister Shahida Jameel and legal adviser Sharifuddin Pirzada to share their enlightened views with us on the recent controversial appointments in the Supreme Court.
AMEEN BANDUKDA
Karachi
THIS is with reference to the letter by Arsalan Siddiqui (Jan 13) in which he quoted from the Jewish Chronicle. I fully endorse his views regarding the Jewish-Hindu conspiracy against Pakistan. Further to that, I believe our foreign policy right from the start was misguided and tilted in favour of the US. Had Russia been our choice, things would have been much better for us today. If this is not enough, please refer to the Holy Quran (5:82) i.e. verse 82 of Surah Maa’ida wherein the Jewish-Hindu nexus has been preordained, as follows:
“Strongest among men in enmity to the believers wilt thou find the Jews and Pagans (idolaters); and nearest among them in love to the believers wilt thou find those who say: we are Nazarenes (Christians); that is because amongst these are men devoted to learning and men who have renounced the world and they are not arrogant.”
MOHD IBRAHIM
Karachi
THE basic health unit inside the Killi Faizo transit camp is part of a comprehensive health programme established by the international medical emergency organization Medicines Sans Frontiers (MSF) over the past four months to help the Government of Pakistan respond to the needs of the tens of thousands of Afghan refugees that have sought safe haven in Balochistan over the past months.
Three MSF basic health units are now operating in the Chaman area: one in the 17,000-person Roghani camp, one in the new but rapidly filling Lande Karez which will serve 10,000 people, and a third in Killi Faizo. All units are staffed by doctors and nurses working to international protocols and supplied only with internationally-approved drugs.
In the past week MSF teams have carried out 1700 primary care consultations covering the full spectrum of essential health services including curative care, measles vaccination, ante and post natal care and nutritional support. During the recent measles outbreak, MSF health workers also carried out preventive vaccination campaigns in Roghani village, while this week a team is immunizing some 16,000 across the border in Spin Boldak to halt transmission.
In addition to the basic health units, MSF employs outreach workers who work tent to tent, seeking out the ill and malnourished and conducting health and hygiene education, and operates a special feeding programme to combat malnutrition. Currently 100 children and 120 pregnant or breast-feeding women are enrolled in this programme.
“I very strongly support MSF’s feeding programme which was fully discussed with me,” said Col Sarwar, Commandant of Pishin Scouts, noting that he often visited the camps’ health facilities unannounced to check on the work being done. “As far as I am aware there is no alarming or dangerous situation now. Everything is under control in health terms,” he added.
Col Sarwar said that, in circumstances like those currently found in Chaman, it is crucial to have common standards across the medical facilities. He expressed the view that medical issues should continue to be well coordinated to ensure that international standards are maintained.
MSF’s project coordinator for Chaman, Tim Baerwaldt, affirmed this sentiment and added it is essential that all organizations continue to work in a coordinated and complementary fashion to ensure that there is no interference with the smooth running of the current health facilities in the camps.
HILARY BOWER
MSF, Chaman
WHO says we have nothing in common with the Indians? The advantage of having the Internet is that I can go through the Indian newspapers regularly, and I have found that these days a common trend in the media of the two countries is ISI bashing. In fact, in recent times our columnists have outdone the Indian columnists in this sport.
Another significant aspect to be noted is that one never gets to see the Indian intelligence agencies mentioned in the Indian or the Pakistani press. Perhaps they are performing their task of destabilizing this country in too masterly a manner to be detected.
DR MUJAHID ZAFAR
Saudi Arabia
THE new system of local government which has been in operation since Aug 14, 2001, has not been effective due to the simple reason that its basic unit, the Union Council, the only directly elected body in the whole system, has not been given the importance it deserves.
People come in direct contact with the Union Council and, therefore, have a lot of expectations from it. But so far being a powerless body, it simply disappoints them. This situation is likely to lead towards the failure of the entire system. Such a disaster can only be avoided by allowing the Union Council to play its expected role.
SIDDIQUE AKBER
Nazim, Qasba Town
Karachi
THE government has withdrawn the benefit of restoration of the surrendered portion of pension in lieu of commutation/gratuity from the pensioners with effect from Dec 1, 2001.
Whereas civil and defence employees have been given an increase in pay ranging from 50 to 60 per cent, the poor pensioners have been given a meagre increase in net pension and not in gross pension (pension before commutation and or surrender of 1/4 for gratuity plus dearness / ad hoc increases / indexation / ad hoc relief, sanctioned from time to time) which would have ranged from 5 to 15 per cent. Even that would not have been fair, as the minimum increase in pension should have ranged from 35 to 42 per cent, considering 70 per cent (and not 70 to 80 per cent) of the emoluments last drawn as pension by a pensioner.
Why do not those at the helm of affairs learn from mistakes committed in the past? Why don’t they understand the simple fact that vested rights cannot be taken back and that orders issued by the government in October 2001 cannot be given retrospective effect at least in the case of those pensioners who had opted to surrender 50 per cent of their pension in lieu of commutation/gratuity and on the acceptance of this option a certain amount was advanced to them as loan on condition of repayment in instalments by means of reduction in the amount of pension? That is why the facility of restoration of commuted portion of pension/gratuity withdrawn by the government in 1995 had to be reauthorized, cancelling ab initio the orders previously issued.
In these days when the prices have risen sky high and the poor pensioners are hard hit, justice and fair play demand that the unjust orders be cancelled and fresh orders be issued allowing increase in pension (not net pension) to existing pensioners proportionate to the increase in pay to the civil and defence employees and the restoration of commuted portion of pension/gratuity to those few who are/will be fortunate enough to outlive the number of years for which their pension/gratuity was commuted.
It is fervently hoped that the government will come to the rescue of the poor pensioners and save them from knocking at the doors of a court of law to get their most genuine grievances redressed.
MOHAMMAD SAEED RAJA
Peshawar
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